Peroni

Figured it out. The more expensive pads are made from Brembo's "X" material, high performance stuff. I'll go with the plain vanilla kit. I'm becoming on of those annoying old farts who drives at 50mph everywhere to save fuel. I have placed an order with Autodoc for Brembo front discs, pads and new pads for the rear. This will give me Brembo kit on all four wheels. Sadly, GSF didn't have a 277mm Brembo disc for my car, only Bendix. I'm sure Bendix is good kit ( German company?) but might as well stay with one make all round for the same price. Autodoc sneaked in an £8.95 delivery charge at the last minute which slightly annoys, but at £135 delivered for Brembo front discs and pads all round I can't complain. Thank you very much for the help sourcing parts Mr B. and Judd.

Really tricky to identify the correct pads at Autodoc. They list four different pads, at different prices, with almost identical dimensions. Some sets almost double the price of others? Bit of a minefield.

Thanks for the links & help. I'll take the wheel off and measure the discs that are on the car. That's the easiest way to work out what I need.

What do you reckon to their own brand front discs? Any good? (Brembos are £146 odd even with 60% off!)

Thanks Judd, I'll get on it now.

Cheers Mr B. I'll look at the Granville stuff and follow the advice from Judd about getting discount alerts for discs and pads. I don't think the pulsing is an ABS or Master Cylinder issue. "Pulsing" is the wrong word because the pedal feel doesn't pulse it just stays fixed. Rather, it is as if there is a point on each wheel rotation where the brakes are having slightly more effect. The frequency is directly related to road/wheel speed. Hopefully just a warp or sticky part somewhere.

Thanks Mr B. I didn't know about Coppaslip being bad on brakes. Will take heed and get the right lubes for the front brake overhaul. I've never had any "moments" in the Forester (apart from that "first brake of the day" at my downhill T junction) it's just the brakes have never felt sharp. Only reason I'm looking into the brakes is that my wife mentioned the same thing and she rarely comments on any mechanical issues (she once drove several miles with a completely deflated rear tyre, only commenting that the car "feels old") That, and the fact that I drove my mothers Honda Jazz the other day and my first thought was "hmmm good brakes" (quickly followed by "horrible steering").

Great post Judd. And very helpful too. Sounds like Brembo discs & pads at the front, along with a good strip & service and maybe switch in a set of Brembos in the rear, to match the existing Brembo discs, wouldn't do any harm. I'll check the handbrake adjustment. I did wonder about replacing the rear drum shoes at the time but didn't because A) The new shoes didn't look like they had any more meat on them than the ones already on the car and B) They seemed rather expensive for shoes that don't even have to work on a spinning wheel, all they have to do is hold. ( As an aside, it to me a while to figure out (watching YouTube vids) that Yanks call the handbrake the "Emergency Brake" or "Ebrake". Dunno why, the handbrake is the last thing I'd be reaching for in an emergency...seems a good way to perform a 180.) Agree about the old drums. I had a motorcycle with TLS (twin leading shoe) drums and it was more than adequate. Although as you say, brake fade was the issue if you braked hard for any length of time. Maybe some kind of super-ventilated drum would produce good brakes? On another point my brakes now seem to be pulsing at lowish speeds. Any idea what causes that? A warped disc? A disc not properly fitted?

I've always been disappointed with the brakes on my 2010 2.0 petrol, manual Forester. I recently replaced the rear rotors (Brembo) and pads (Padgid) and had the brake fluid replaced and system bled at a recent service. Result?, brakes are still rubbish and hand brake always feels weak ( although this may just be that cable and drum shoes need re-adjusting). As an example, there is a steep downward hill to a T-junction just as I leave my home. It is usually the first time on any drive that I use my brakes in earnest and sometimes there is a heart-stopping moment where it feels like I won't stop in time. It sometimes seems to take more pedal travel and force that I am expecting. On the road the brakes feel generally weak and need a hefty boot to slow down from speed. It never feels dangerous, but it does not inspire confidence either. I'm now turning my attention to the front rotors and discs. Can anyone suggest decent brake kit that might give me a better, more powerful brake response? Is this a known issue with this car, or am I just unlucky? What are your Forester brakes like?

Yes, funnily enough one garage said; "we can't get Subaru exhausts parts, they are very difficult to get. There is only one place that does them ( a local Subaru main dealer) , they never have them in stock and we have to go and pick the parts up ourselves. Maybe you could source the exhaust and we can fit it?" This was a "specialist" independent exhaust repairer and fitter, so a bit disheartening. Perhaps they are too busy fitting loud performance exhausts to sporty hatchbacks. Is there a "rule" that garages can't use Ebay or on-line parts suppliers? I can understand that there is a risk of sub-standard parts, but surely once you track down a good supplier, even on Ebay, you can use them with relative confidence? Repair done this morning; just a quick favour to keep me on the road. The other side looks very iffy too and will need done soon. I'd ask my brother to do it (he has a welder) but a bit concerned about welding so close to fuel tank. The back boxes are labelled "N1R" and "N1L", just printed on, not embossed, so maybe not OEM? Thanks for all the advice. Most useful.

My local MOT place is going to make a welded repair to both silencer boxes. Good news for the wallet!

No one wants this job: "Subaru mate? Ooft !...hard to get parts for them". "Best to replace the whole thing", "Couldn't look at it for 2 weeks". One "Auto Welding Specialist" says "My welder is broken and I can't get it "looked at" for 2 weeks so I'm not doing any welding just now". My local, friendly MOT garage are having a look this afternoon but its not really their type of job. Maybe I should learn to weld.

Looks like a crack in the pipe on the dodgy one. Just re-examining my original pics. Not yet had a proper poke about.

Thanks Mr B. Mechanic looking at car next week and carrying out an MOT and service too. I shall instruct that I'd like to keep mufflers if they are in decent knick. I'll have a good look at them tomorrow, not sure how to tell if they are OEM.

I'm having difficulty finding a replacement exhaust system from the front box backwards. 2.0 Diesel listed as only 2008-13 Forester on parts lists. Is the diesel exhaust the same as petrol for the mid to rear sections? ( I'm guessing not, it's a turbo, probably different diameter pipe?)

Thanks Mr B. That explains the lack of joints at the back boxes....annoying, but I can see why the previous owner did it. The rest of the pipework seems sound enough. 5 years would do me fine. By then I hope to be done with higher annual mileage and could get myself an older style 2.5T Auto, which would suit me better. ( either that or a 2004 onwards Lexus LS 430 which I have a weird hankering for, God help me) All I know of near me are bargain bucket exhaust/tyre places and the big sheds; Kwick Fit etc. I'll need to find someone who can actually problem solve and cut and weld if I want to just buy a couple of back boxes fairly cheap and have them cut in. Mind you, I'm in Glasgow, must be a few places who specialise in exhaust work. I'll have a look around. Guessing it will be more attractive for them to supply & fit rather than have me supply the parts. Why can't they just make car exhausts out of silicone rubber?

Back from holiday today and a blowing sound from the driver's side rear box. Have traced it to a coupling where box pipe joins pipe leading to "Y" section. Have made a temp repair but will need replaced soon. What is confusing me is that all the exhaust part pictures I can find show the two rear muffler boxes as being fixed to the "Y" pipe by flanged joints. This would make it simple to detach damaged item and replace. However my muffler/silencer boxes seem to be either joined by a socket joint or to be a single structure fixed to the "Y" pipe. It is hard to tell because of all the corrosion on the "joints". So, my problem is; can I replace just one muffler box or will I need to buy both boxes together with the pipe that leads all the way to the shiny flattened muffler. ( I'm not sure where the cats are on this car, seem to be inside the engine bay?) Also I'm not sure how easy/successful it will be detaching the rear section of pipe from the flattened muffler will be? The flanged joint ( two bolts) looks a bit rusty but is perhaps normal and straightforward to seperate? I've never done much exhaust work, so a bit uncertain. I'll get a proper mechanic to do the job but I only want to buy what I need, avoid cheap, nasty parts that will need replaced soon and also consider whether now id the time to go for a stainless system at the back (and if so how much pipework I need to buy). Hopefully some pics will show what I'm talking about.

Yes, they checked full 4 wheel set up. Or they told me they did. I just a bit wary because it was a brand-new, laser alignment machine they had and a bit of me wonders if they may not have been fully up to speed on setting it up. ( No reason to doubt their skills, just me being a control freak). Perhaps I do go round corners too fast, maybe because the Nokians are so grippy and stable. ( I'm an ex-motorcyclist, so cornering is something I enjoy if I have no passengers in the car) Hmmmm.

Thank you for your reply Paul. The Nokians do grip very well, even in the wet. I guess that is coming at a price. You said "Toyo Snowpoxes"? Is that a pun on the actual tyre name? I would like my next tyres to have a bit more grip on wet mud. I'm often collecting timber from a woodland and driving on mud and grass. I would like something with a bit more off-road ability but still OK for 90% road use. Would also need to be something that kept my insurance co. happy.

I put 4 Nokian All Weather tyres on my 2010 2.0 litre X petrol, manual Forester last September. Looking at the front tyres I see that both are approaching the wear indicators on the outside shoulder, over about 30-40mm of the tyre. Is this a normal wear pattern? Tyres have done about 10,000 miles. The rear tyres show very little sign of wear. I have moved the front tyres to the back, just to prevent the fronts wearing further while I investigate. The tracking was checked when the tyres were new as I'd just had front, lower wishbones fitted on both sides. The garage told me the tracking was spot on after the new suspension parts were fitted. They had recently installed a new, fancy laser tracking machine. I am disappointed to see such wear after only 10k miles. I was hoping for a longer life span. Is the Forester known to be hard on front tyre shoulders? I don't drive aggressively but I don't slow down unduly for corners either. Maybe this level of tyre wear is normal in a heavy SUV? If only one front tyre had been wearing I'd suspect dodgy tracking but both tyres are showing identical wear pattern. Maybe Forester runs with a lot of "toe-in" as standard? Does anyone know what life span to expect from front tyres on a Forester?

Thanks Mr.B. That sounds reassuring to some extent. Not all petrol stations near me sell premium petrol but I'll try to find a decent outlet, even if just for my chainsaws and mowers. Agree that the bio fuels may not be a world saver; incentivising ( often poor) farmers to grow fuel for cars rather than crops for food might be unwise.

Just been reading that all UK petrol stations will switch to E10 petrol (10% ethanol) soon. Current maximum of bio-ethanol allowed is 5% (E5). https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/104126/e10-petrol-be-uk-standard-wont-work-1m-older-cars Will my 2010 Forester 2.0 litre petrol run OK on this stuff? And will the plastic & rubber parts in fuel system be OK? All cars made since 2011must be able to run on E5 but I don't know if pre-2011 Foresters will be happy with E5 ethanol. I'm no fan of the ethanol juice, it seems to create lots of problems with my lawnmowers and chainsaws. Could be a double whammy; forced to buy "Super" unleaded and car further de-valued if its not in the E5 club. Any one know?

Yes, the smaller diameter tyres often seem to give a better ride. On my last car I had separate rims & tyres for winter and went for a slightly skinnier, smaller diameter tyre for winter. ( same rolling circumference, but with taller sidewall to compensate) It made a good difference to comfort and I liked having to worry less about kerbing the rims due to the extra height of rubber. I might look into separate summer tyres, however I will still be mucking about in woods during the summer, so I'll need something with a wee bit of off-road ability.

OK. I've had a second response from insurer following my "escalation" of the issue. They said they would need to speak to the underwriter and have come back with the following: "Winter tyres are absolutely fine and will be covered under your policy. The tyres must be used in the correct driving conditions and be suitable for your vehicle." So, it looks like I am covered and insurance co. have seen sense. Thank goodness for that. Although a slight question mark remains come spring time ? Thank you for all you comments & support. Here's picture of the Nokian shod Forester pulling a trailer of logs off-road to celebrate:

Yes, I never usually bother with that type of thing. I tend to ignore officialdom mostly. No good ever comes of volunteering information to jobsworths in my experience. Must be my age! I was genuinely trying to keep myself on the right side in any potential claim situation. Wish I hadn't bothered. Re; Juddian's comments above; I did find a copy of the ABI "Winter Tyre Commitment" and have sent it to my insurer since they are listed on it. The Nokians are winter rated (mountain & snowflake symbol) and I have used this in my argument that they are appropriate for the vehicle and use. I await the response from insurer.